


Of Beasts and Man

by coolbyrne



Category: NCIS
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-28
Updated: 2019-07-02
Packaged: 2020-05-28 06:51:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,863
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19388755
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/coolbyrne/pseuds/coolbyrne
Summary: A hard immovable object meets a soft, fluffy force. Semi-Slibbs





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [jenni3penny](https://archiveofourown.org/users/jenni3penny/gifts).



> I had so many ideas that I didn't get to include in this fic. But you never know, an epilogue could be coming down the pipe. *cough*jenni3penny*cough*
> 
> Some tough days at work leads to a fluffy kitten fic. I make no apologies. Kitten Fic by request.

His eye sight might be going as he was getting older, but his hearing was still damn sharp, even if he pretended otherwise at times. So when he heard the plaintive sound as his hand touched the truck's door handle, his head dropped. The nights had been unseasonably cool in the DC fall which only supported his suspicions. With a hesitant hand that was only delaying the inevitable, he finally lifted the hood and was greeted by 6 mewling fur balls.

He flicked open his phone and hit the speed dial.

"I'm gonna be late."

It was tantamount to seeing a unicorn.

"Anything wrong?" Bishop asked.

"Just hold down the fort 'til I get there."

He snapped the phone shut and glared at the litter of kittens curled around his carburetor, looking at him so expectantly. 

"What?"

…..

"Hey Jack?"

Sloane had just entered the bullpen when Bishop called her over to her desk.

"Yeah, what's up?"

Looking around and ducking her head like the walls had eyes and ears. "What's up with Gibbs?"

Jack mirrored Ellie's stealth pose. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, he was late this morning and he's spent the whole day on his phone. You know he hates being on the phone."

"Mmm," Jack murmured in agreement. The man was notorious for the world's shortest phone conversations. 

"You don't-" Ellie looked around again. "You don't think he's seeing someone, do you?"

Jack couldn't stop her mouth twitching in amusement, but tried to quickly cover up her slip. "Why are you asking me?"

Ellie nodded and grinned, Jack's deflection doing nothing to stop Bishop from drawing her conclusions. "Figured you might have reason to know." 

She shrugged nonchalantly, and Jack knew she was busted, even if she wasn't quite sure what she was busted for. Her relationship with Gibbs- however they were defining it- was still in the morning sunrise stage, with everything new and full of potential. Technically, she supposed he was seeing someone, if 1 knowing look by Grace over the poker table and 2 spontaneous makeout sessions over the weekend counted as such. 

"I currently have no reason to know," was all Jack was willing to admit.

Ellie accepted the faint reveal with a nod. "Okay, but if you have reason to in the future, can you let me know?" She leaned even closer. "I'm running an office pool."

"An office pool for what?"

Both Bishop and Jack jumped back like they had both been caught with their hands in the cookie jar. Gibbs strolled around his desk but not before handing Jack a coffee on the way, much to Ellie’s private delight.

"Ah, office pool to see why you were late this morning," Jack quickly fabricated.

“Someone guess kittens in my truck engine?" he asked.

"Awww!" Bishop and Jack sighed in unison, only to be stopped cold by Gibbs' glare.

"Been callin' in every favour to get rid of the damn things. Had to go buy litter and food."

"They won't be littered trained if they're kit-" Bishop immediately recognized her flub and began patting around her desk until she found her phone. "Oh! That must be Kasie," she said, despite the phone not ringing. "She's probably got some info on that case." She scrambled to her feet in an attempt to avoid Gibbs' ire.

"What case?" he asked, throwing her attempt into the wind.

"Uh, you know. The case. Remember what I said, Jack." 

Gibbs watched her leave, then turned his attention to Jack. "Remember what?"

"Remember to not let you badger the barista into giving me less sugar," she said after taking a sip of her coffee. "Is there any sugar in this at all?" His reply was a noncommittal grunt. "So how many kittens do you have?"

"I don’t _have_ any," he replied. "What I'm dealing with are 6 freeloaders." 

She pressed her lips together to suppress her laugh. "And how many have you gotten rid of?"

"Four ex-Marines with grandkids who are gonna be very happy by the end of the day. And Fornell."

The tacked on name made her grin. "So 1 for you to keep."

"Nope." She tilted her head and he shook his. "No." Her little pout did nothing to dissuade him. "Why don't you take 1?"

"Landlord won't allow it. The only stray I'm allowed to take home is you." She enjoyed the fact that he tried not to smile and failed. "However, that might change if this coffee doesn't." She raised the cup as punctuation to her warning. “See you and your new roomie tonight?”

His glare shooed her out of the room.

…..

He knew he should’ve found a box before he left for the day, because now he was having a hell of a time corralling the 6 inquisitive tumbleweeds in his living room. Half-remembering a box downstairs, he opened the basement door but wasn’t quick enough closing it, because 3 of the kittens barrelled onto the landing and the other 3 followed behind to see what the fuss was all about. 

“Stay,” he commanded, holding up a finger. “I mean it.” Five appeared to follow his order, cowed by his stern voice, but one trotted right up to the edge and mewled. “No,” he ordered again. “I got tools that can make your death look like an accident.” His threat received another mewl, but the kitten didn’t move. “Good.” He began descending slightly backwards, keeping his eye on the little rebel. Satisfied his orders were being obeyed, he turned to go down the rest of the stairs-

Thump-thump-thumpthumpthump

The first 2 steps were a success, but the distance between them and the speed required for the kitten to bridge the gap was its downfall. Literally. Gibbs had turned back just in time to see its face flatten into the fifth step.

“For cryin’ out loud,” he muttered, lifting up the kitten by the scruff and plopping it on his shoulder. “Stay. Won’t tell you again.” He flicked a light on and scoured the basement for a box. “Where’d I put the damn thing?” The kitten squeaked a reply and Gibbs replied, ‘Ya think?” The minute the words came out of his mouth, he mentally head slapped himself. “Quit talkin’ to the goddamn cat. And you-” he turned to the very attentive kitten on his shoulder, “not a word to Jack, understand?”

He took the head bump as an affirmative.

…..

He was able to find a few more boxes to expedite the transfer when his Marine buddies showed up to collect. He tried not to think about how he may or may not have intentionally steered prospective owners away from his tag along, until there were only 2 remaining. The thing was wailing at his feet when Jack came into the house, unbeknownst to the two.

"Hold your horses," he growled as he mixed the cat food with some water. When he put down the dish but the kitten didn’t take, he scooped it up into his left hand, dipped his right finger into the food and rubbed it on the kitten's gums. The ball of fur showed its appreciation by taking in more than the food. "Ow!" 

"Awww," Jack cooed in the kitchen doorway.

Gibbs spun around, but instead of berating her for sneaking up on him, he said, "No, not 'Awww'. Ungrateful little-"

His expletive was cut off by her kiss and her hands that tugged his belt closer to her hips. When she pulled away to see his arched eyebrow, she flashed one of her own. "Something about a big hard man and a small soft thing. And you can interpret that any way you like." 

"That does it for you, huh?"

She shrugged with no shame. "Can't explain it." She kissed him again until a wet nose bumped into her cheek and she nuzzled it with her nose. "Oh, you are so adorable."

"You're not makin' your case here, Cat."

Chastely, she dropped one more kiss on his lips. "You're not so bad yourself, Cowboy." A mewl from the living room caught her attention. "How many do you have left?"

"Just the 2. Waitin' on Tobias."

"What will you do with the other one?"

"Take it down to the animal shelter," he replied, though he already knew he'd do no such thing. Her eyes had softened when she saw the thing in his arms, and the look sent a heat right to his chest. And his groin. Still, he played the tough act to see how long he could do it.

Her mouth dropped. “You wouldn’t!”

He pretended his decision was the only one available. “Told ya I wasn’t keepin’ it. Nobody else wants it. So-”

“Fine. I’ll keep it.”

He squinted with suspecting eyes. “Thought your landlord wouldn’t let you?”

“He won’t. But I’ll pay you every month to keep it here.”

He snorted at the logic. “Then I might as well keep it.”

“Great!” She kissed him again, using his shirt to hold him close.

“That’s not what I meant,” he mumbled under her wonderfully persistent lips.

Running her tongue along his bottom lip, she nibbled once before asking, “Isn’t it?”

How he had fallen under her spell so hard and so fast, he’d never know, though he suspected it was from the very minute she had spilled into his home on that stormy night two years ago. Looking at the kitten that was still perched on his shoulder, he said, “Ya still got time before it’s too late.” 

His roundabout way of admitting his feelings got him another kiss, this one deeper and more heartfelt. The quick rap on the door had her stepping back much too quickly for his liking, and he realized it was because they’d yet to figure out what _this_ was between them, let alone figuring out how to explain it to anyone else. To her startled surprise, he reached out for her hand and pulled her into his side.

“Hey, I hear Gibbs’ finally got some p-” Tobias stopped dead in the doorway. He took in the image of Jack, Gibbs’ and the kitten on his shoulder and filed that away as a reminder to talk to Grace. Covering his discovery, he said, “-robably shouldn’t say that in the presence of a lady.” He walked up to Jack and kissed her on the proffered cheek. “Jack.”

“Yeah,” she replied, “because I never, _ever_ heard such language in the Army.”

Tobias clapped his hands together. “So I’m clearly not getting that one.” His chin jerked up to the kitten peering down at him. “So where’s the other one?”

“Box by the couch,” Gibbs said. “The only one outta the two that would stay in the damn thing.” He glared at an uncaring feline on his shoulder.

Crouching into the living room, Fornell cooed at the kitten in the box. “Aren’t you the prettiest thing, some current company excluded?”

Jack laughed at the compliment. “Emily getting a surprise?”

“Nah, the neighbour next to me has a little girl. I asked if it was okay if I brought her a kitten. They’re going through a tough time right now. Deadbeat dad, you know the story.”

“This neighbour got a grateful older sister?” Gibbs asked dryly.

“She might,” Tobias admitted. “Why you gotta make it sound like that?”

Jack laughed again and patted Fornell on the shoulder. “You’re doing a nice thing.”

“Thank you, Jack. See that?” he asked, glowering at Gibbs. “I’m doing a nice thing. You might try it every once in a while.” He caught Gibbs’ smirk and glance at Jack. “On _that_ note, I’m gone. Enjoy your cat, Gibbs. Might make you a nicer person.” He scooped up the box. “C’mon little-” he balanced the box and lifted the kitten’s tail. “-guy. I’m saving you from an ogre.” 

When the door closed, Jack turned to Gibbs, finding his fingers with hers. “So are you? Doing a nice thing, I mean?”

It came as no surprise that she had caught the double entendre between him and Tobias. Glancing at the ceiling and tilting his head in a contemplative side to side motion, he said, “Not currently. But there’s always a possibility.” He shed the pretense and looked right at her. “Right?”

She curled her arm around his free shoulder and drew him in for a kiss. “Absolutely.” 

Any doing- of things nice or otherwise- was stopped in its tracks by a sharp mewl into Gibb’s ear. A grumble rolled up his throat and Jack soothed both beast and man with a gentle hand and a promising mouth.

…..

-end


	2. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A kitten has Gibbs wrapped around her little paw.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a perfect epilogue written by jenni3penny. I love it!

She hadn't been overly concerned or surprised by the quietness of the house when she'd gotten back but she did take a pause after toeing her running shoes off. The late-day sun was still coming through all the windows but it wasn't as warm as it had been months before, fall sunlight shifting the shadows in the house slowly as she left her shoes by the door. 

Something kept her from calling his name, her ears perked for any sound from the basement or up the stairs as she moved toward the living room. Jack kept her socks shushing softly on the floor and an instantaneous grin overtook her as she paused in the doorway. It took everything she had not to squeak out a noise at how damn adorable the two of them were. 

_So much for Gibbsian hardass-ery._

He had been conquered by a kitten. 

***

Gibbs had heard her come back, ever aware of the double thunked latching sound his front door had recently started making. He kept reminding himself that it needed to be checked, even while he also reminded himself to keep still. 

He'd been half drifted in sleep when she had come back from her run, barely consciously aware of the soft pile of purr that was centered square on his chest. If he squinted his eyes open all he could see was fluff tufted ears and an otherwise perfectly curled little fuzz ball. 

"Why me?" he muttered quietly, voice still slightly disturbing the kitten and bringing its tiny paws up against its delicate face. The pleased whimper of a sound she made in answer to the movement had a half smile tugging his lips. 

"Because you're big and strong and safe," Jack murmured, her fingers catching against his hairline, nails light against his scalp. "I was gonna see if you wanted to share a shower but I can see that you're _very_ busy."

" _Not_ a fair trade off." 

She leaned down, voice hushing as she kissed onto the top of his head. "You'll be rewarded." 

*** 

Twenty minutes later and they were in near the same position as she roughed a towel against her hair. Most of the day's light had gone slanted and they were both sprawled on their backs in one of the last bright slivers of sunshine. 

Jack smiled to herself, studying them silently as she dried her hair. Her jaw lifted as the kitten's feet all went dream-kicking at once, throwing the squirrelly little thing off balance. She made a sharp noise in her throat just as the cat started to tip off his chest and she sighed her shoulders back down as he seemed to simply pluck it up mid-fall. Gibbs just casually deposited the confused and wide eyed creature back onto his hoodie-covered chest, his hand continuing up to rub over his face. 

"That was sexy," she offered gently, stepping toward the couch and smirking as the kitten stood and gave her a quiet mew for attention. She tossed the towel aside and the second cry came louder, more desperate, making her laugh as she reached for the cat. Jack easily picked her up, snuggling them up together as he shifted his foot to the floor, pulling himself up to sit. 

"Cadence," she whispered, getting a headbutt right in the nose as thanks. She simply nudged back, chuckling as the kitten started giving her a half stuttered purr. "Like a cadence call."

"Like a jody?"

"Yeah," she nodded as he tugged at the t-shirt she had swiped out of his dresser drawer, pulling lightly at her to draw her closer. "Cady." 

She saw his face soften as she sat down, watched him go a little weak in the eyes and she almost retracted the suggestion. Something near flinched in his face before a sleepy smirk tipped his lips on one side. 

"She's yours, Jack." He shrugged and then angled his jaw onto her shoulder with a comfortable and easy softness. "Name her whatever you want."

"Mine?" Jack shook her head in argument as he brushed damp hair away from her ear. She felt him nuzzle against the side of her head, lips teasing so softly that the touches had her spine arching reflexively. "Naw, she's already claimed you."

"I'm a one-girl sorta guy." His statement was punctuated by the kitten giving up a slight yowl for his attention. 

"Well," she laughed, keeping her hand up under the cat's round belly for support as it tried stubbornly clawing its way up her shoulder and back to him. "Then I guess it was nice knowin' ya, Cowboy." 

-end


End file.
